Compacting system for stacking bulk hay

ABSTRACT

A system for stacking bulk hay comprising a hay wagon comprising a receptacle, a compacting head in the form of a hollow, truncated pyramid mounted for vertical reciprocal movement within said receptacle, to compress hay in the receptacle into a selfcontaining stack of compacted hay, a pneumatic delivery system for delivering loose hay from the ground into the wagon, accumulator means for permitting delivery of hay into the wagon during the compacting operation, and means for unloading the compacted hay from the wagon. The disclosure includes method, apparatus, and the configuration of the resulting hay stack.

PATENIED L 1 3. 744.228

PAIENTEBJuL 1 0 m sum u 0? 7 PATENIEDJUUOW 3.744.228

- am a or 1 NWT Pmmmwuoms 3344.228

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COMPACTING SYSTEM FOR STACKING BULK HAY BACKGROUND 1. Field of Invention This invention relates to hay wagons and particularly to wagons for compacting and transporting hay and the like.

2. Prior Art As is well known, hay is an essential feed for livestock and, consequently, hay production is an important agricultural activity. Hay is produced during thesummer and is stored for feeding to the livestock during the winter. In many parts of the country, hay is packed into bales, weighing approximately 50-100 pounds, which are packed into barns, sheds,-or the like, for storage and are removed, as needed, for delivery to the livestock. However, in other parts of the country, particularly in parts of the West, where mountainous terrain and heavy snows may make it difficult or impossible to deliver the hay to the livestock in winter, it is customary to store the hay, without baling, in stacks in the field. Historically, this has been accomplished by manually loading the hay from the field onto a wagon and, when the wagon is filled, from the wagon onto a stack. Obviously, much time and effort is required for such an operation. Furthermore, hay is frequently gathered in a race against time before an oncoming storm, since hay which is gathered and stacked or baled, when wet, is subject to rotting and spontaneous combustion. The latter is especially dangerous since it can cause fires which may destroy the hay and spread to adjacent buildings and fields. If the hay is gathered dry, it is less susceptible to such rain damage, even if the hay is simply stacked, since the rain normally penetrates only the outer layers of the hay stack, which can be subsequently dried by the sun. However, some possibility of such rain damage still exists. Moreover, repeated wetting and drying of the outer layers tends to make the leaves become brittle and crumble away, leaving only the stems and greatly reducing the nutritional value of the hay. Baled hay is much less susceptible to such damage since the compaction of the hay during baling causes the hay to be much more dense and less permeable to the rain. Unfortunately, bales are conventionally secured with wire or string which is inedible by livestock. Moreover, where access is difficult or impossible for delivering bales to the livestock, access is frequently equally difficult or impossible for removing the wires or string from stacked bales.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome with the present invention and a hay gathering method and apparatus are disclosed which provides most of the advantages of both stacked and baled hay, while eliminating most of the disadvantages. Moreover, the technique of the present invention greatly reduces the time and effort required for hay gathering operations.

The advantages of the present invention are preferably attained by providing a hay wagon including means for loading the loose hay from the ground into the wagon, means for compacting the hay on the wagon, and means for unloading the compacted hay to provide a compacted stack which is self-contained and requires no inedible securing means.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a hay wagon comprising a receptacle, means for loading loose hay from the ground into the receptacle, means for compacting the hay in the receptacle, and means for unloading the compacted hay from the receptacle.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a hay wagon embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the hay wagon of FIG. 1 during the compacting operation;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the hay wagon of FIG. 1 during the unloading operation;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation showing the mechanism for operating the compacting head of the hay wagon of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation showing a mechanism for operating the compacting head of the hay wagon of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the unloading doors of the hay wagon of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view showing the doors of FIG. 6 in the unloading position;

FIG. 8 is a rear elevation of an alternative form of unloading door for the hay wagon of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a partial side elevation showing the door of FIG. 8 in the unloading position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT In that form of the present invention chosen for purposes of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a hay wagon, indicated generally at 2, having a frame 4, supported by suitable suspension means 6, and having means, such as hitch 8, for permitting the wagon 2 to be pulled by a tractor or the like. The suspension means 6 may be of any suitable type, but is preferably of the type shown and described in my copending patent application, Ser. No. 117,574, filed Feb. 22, 1971.

A generally box-like, open-topped receptacle 10 is mounted on the frame 4 and a compacting head 12 is mounted for vertical, reciprocal movement within the receptacle [0 between an upper position, as seen in FIG. 1, and a lower position, as seen in FIG. 2, to compact hay within the receptacle 10, as more fully described hereinafter The compacting head 12 is hollow and is generally in the form of a truncated pyramid having a substantially flat topl4 and inclined side walls 16 extending outward and downward from the top 14 to slidingly engage the side walls 18 of receptacle 10 at a point below the upper edge thereof, as indicated at 20. The front wall 22 of the compacting head 12 is formed with an opening 24 and a chute 26 is disposed about the opening 24 and is secured to the front wall 22 of compacting head 12 by suitable means, such as welding or bolts. The chute 26 projects forwardly from front wall 22 a sufficient distance to clear the front wall 28 of receptacle and then extends downward into telescoping relation about a lower chute 30. The lower chute 30 preferably forms part of a pneumatic delivery system, including a rotary rake 32 and blower 34, for delivering hay from the ground to the interior of wagon 2 through opening 24. The hay delivery system is preferably of the type shown and described in my copending patent application, Ser. No. 195,549, filed Nov. 4, 1971. However, it will be apparent that other means could be employed to pick the loose hay from the ground and deliver it into the interior of the wagon 2. I

Preferably, the side walls 16 of the compacting head 12 are each formed with a slot 36 through which accumulator doors 38 are movable horizontally, under the control of bracket 39, pulleys 40 and 42 and chain 44, to form an accumulator chamber which permits continued loading of loose hay into the wagon 2 during the compacting operation, as described in detail in my copending patent application, Ser. No. 195,609, filed Nov. 4, 1971.

FIG. 4 illustrates the actuating mechanism for the compacting head 12. As shown, the actuating mechanism comprises a pair of opposed fluid cylinders 46 and 48 and a continuous cable 50. Each of the fluid cylinders 46 and 48 has two pulleys mounted at the rear end thereof, as seen at 52, 54, 56 and 58, and has two additional pulleys, as seen at 60, 62, 64 and 66, mounted for movement with the piston rods 68 thereof. The piston rods 68 are coupled by suitable means, such as straps 70, so that the action of fluid cylinders 46 and 48 is complimentary, one driving as the other is exhausting. The ends of the continuous cable 50 are anchored, as seen at 72 and 74. From anchor point 72, the cable 50 passes about pulley 60, carried by the piston rod of cylinder 46, then rearward and about pulley 52 on the rear of fluid cylinder 48, then forwardly and across the top of fluid cylinder 46 and about pulley 62, carried by the piston rod of cylinder 46, and then rearwardly and about pulley 54 at the base of channel member 78 of receptacle 10. Each of the side walls 18 of the receptacle 10 is formed of a plurality of vertically extending, generally U-shaped channel members 78, 80, 82, 84, 86 and 88, which open to the interior of the receptacle 10 and are connected by panels 90 to define the side walls 18. As indicated above, cable 50 passes about pulley 54 at the base of channel member 78 and travels upward, outside of channel member 78, about pulley 92 at the top of channel member 78, and downward, inside channel member 78. The cable 50 is fixedly secured to compacting head 12, as by clip 94, and continues downward and about pulley 96, mounted internally of channel member 78. Thereafter, cable 50 passes horizontally, through suitable openings 98 in channel members 78 and 80 to pulley 100 at the base of channel member 82. The cable 50 passes about pulley 100, upward outside channel member 82, about pulley 102, and downward inside channel member 82 and about interiorlymounted pulley 104. The portion of cable 50 inside channel member 82 is secured to the compacting head 12 by suitable means, similar to clip 94. Thereafter, cable 50 passes horizontally, through suitable openings 98 in channel members 82, 84 and 86, to pulley 106 at the base of channel member 88. The cable passes about pulley 106 and travels upward outside channel member 88, about pulley 108, downward inside channel member 88, is secured, as by clip 94, to the compacting head 12, and continuous downward about pulley 110 and, then, passes under the wagon 2 to the opposite side of the wagon 2. On the opposite side of the wagon 2, the cable 50 travels in a manner similar to that described above, passing upward outside the channel members, about an upper pulley, and downward inside of the channel members and about a lower pulley. The portion of the cable 50 inside each of the channel members is secured to the compacting head 12 by suitable means, such as clip 94. After passing downward inside channel member 112, the cable 50 passes about pulley 58, at the rear of fluid cylinder 48 and travels forward and about pulley 66 carried by piston rod 68 of fluid cylinder 48. The cable 50 then travels rearward across the top of cylinder 48 and about pulley 56, thence, forward and about pulley 64 to anchor point 74. As shown, the cable 50 travels upward on the outside and downward on the inside of channel members 78, 84 and 88 and the corresponding channel members on the opposite side of the wagon 2. However, it will be apparent that, if desired, the cable 50 could be made to travel similarly about channel members 80, 82 and 86, in addition. The disposition of cable 50 about pulleys 52, 54, 60 and 62 of fluid cylinder 46 and about pulleys 56, 58, 64 and 66 of fluid cylinder 48 causes the movement of the cable 50 to be equal to twice the movement of the piston rods 68 of fluid cylinders 46 and 48.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an alternative system for actuating the compacting head 12 using one double-acting fluid cylinder 114 having pulleys 116 and 118 mounted in tandem on the piston rod 120 of the fluid cylinder 114. The two ends of the continuous cable 122 are secured at anchor points 124 and 126, respectively, and travel about pulleys 116 and 118, respectively, and, thence, to thpe channel members, in the manner described above. It will be understood that portions 128 of cable 122 pass upward outside of the channel members, while portions 130 of cable 122 pass downward within the channel members and are secured to the compacting head at points 132 by suitable means.

FIGS. 3, 6 and 7 illustrate the mechanism for unloading the wagon 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a fluid cylinder 134 is mounted on the frame 4 and has a piston rod 136 coupled to the underside of the receptacle 10, while the receptacle 10 is pivotally secured to the frame 4 adjacent the rear end thereof. The bracket 39, which serves to actuate the accumulator doors 38 is slidably mounted on pins 41 which carrysprings 43 to normally urge bracket 39 into engagement with pulley 40. However, a chain 45 has one end connected to bracket 39 and passes about pulleys 47, 49 and 51 to an anchor point 53 on the frame 4 to draw bracket 39 out of en gagement with pulley 40 during the unloading operation. At the rear end of the wagon 2, the receptacle 10 and compacting head 12 are provided with doors, as seen at 138 and 140, respectively, in FIGS. 6 and 7. Fluid cylinders 142 are provided on each side of the receptacle 10 and have telescoping pistons 144. Door 138 is pivotally connected on each side to one end of each of a pair of parallel rods 146 and 148 which have their opposite ends pivotally connected to a sleeve 150 which is slidable telescopically about channel member 82, as on track 152 from a lowered position, as seen in FIG. 6, to a raised position, as seen in FIG. 7. Piston rod 144 has its free end connected to parallel rod 146 and is extendable, as seen in FIG. 7, to lift parallel rods 146 and 148 to raise and open doors 138 and 140. Door 140 is provided with a pair of horizontal flanges 154 which are engagable by door 138, as it is lifted, and which serve to lift door 140 with door 138 to the fully open position shown in FIG. 7. A pair of endless chains 156 extend substantially the entire length of the floor 158 of receptacle and are operable, by conventional means, to facilitate unloading of the compacted hay when the wagon 2 is tilted.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an alternative form of door for unloading the wagon 2. As seen in FIG. 8, an upper door portion 160 is hingedly secured to the rear of the compacting head 12, as at 162, and carries rails 164 which are slidable within brackets 166 mounted on the inner side of a lower door portion 168. A pair of fluid cylinders 170 are mounted on the compacting head 12 and have piston rods 172 which are pivotally secured to brackets 174 mounted on the upper door portion 160. The lower door portion 168 is formed with a pair of slots 176 communicating with the upper edge thereof which receive the brackets 174 during movement of the compacting head 12 in the compacting operation.

In use, the compacting head 12 is, initially, in the raised position, as seen in FIG. 1, and the accumulator doors 38 are in the outward position. As the wagon 2 is pulled, loose hay is picked up from the ground by rotary rake 32 and is delivered, by air from blower 34, through chutes 30 and 26 and opening 24 into the interior of the wagon 2. When desired, fluid cylinders 46 and 48 are actuated to drive pulleys 60-66 to the position shown in FIG. 4. As this occurs the portions of the cable 59 within the channel members will move downward causing clips 94 to move the compacting head 12 downward within receptacle 10 to the position shown in FIG. 2.

When the accumulator doors 38 are provided, the downward movement of the compacting head 12 will cause pulley 40 to engage bracket 39 and to be rotated thereby to cause the accumulator doors 38 to move inwardly through slots 36 to divide the interior of the wagon 2 into an accumulator portion, above the doors 38, and a compacting portion, below the doors 38. Also, chute 26 telescopes downward about chute 30 to permit continued delivery of loose hay into the accumulator portion during the compacting operation.

During the compacting operation, the side walls 16 of the compacting head 12 serve to urge the loose hay toward the center of the receptacle 10, while the roof 14, or accumulator doors 38, if provided, serves to compress the hay downward. Thereafter, fluid cylinders 46 and 48 are actuated to drive pulleys 60-66 toward cylinder 48. As this occurs, the portions of cable 50 within the channel members will move upward, causing clips 94 to raise the compacting head 12 to the position shown in FIG. 1.

As the compacting head 12 moves upward, pulley 40 will again engage bracket 39 and be rotated in the opposite direction to move actuator doors 38 to the open position of FIG. 1 and allowing loose hay delivered into the accumulator portion above the doors 38 to fall into the receptacle 10. It will be apparent that this compacting operation may be repeated, as desired, until the quantity and density of the compacted hay within receptacle l0 prevents further compacting.

When this condition is obtained, the wagon 2 may be towed to a desired unloading spot and fluid cylinders 134 and 142 will be actuated. Fluid cylinder 134 raises the front end of the receptacle 10 to the position shown in FIG. 3. As this occurs, chute 26 is lifted clear of chute 30 and chain serves to retract bracket 39 to prevent further actuation of the accumulator doors 38. Where necessary or desirable, chute 26 may be hingedly secured to the compacting head 12. Meanwhile, fluid cylinder 142 raises doors 138 and 140 to a point above the level of the accumulator doors 38 and endless chains 156 are actuated to eject the compacted hay from the wagon 2. Thereafter, the wagon 2 may be returned to the position shown in FIG. 1 to continue the hay gathering operation.

Due to the inclined side walls 16 of the compacting head 12, the hay will be forced away from the side walls 18 of the receptacle 10 toward the center of the wagon 2, as it is compacted, while the roof 14 or accumulator doors 38 forces the hay downward and then moves upward away from the hay. As a result, a densely compressed stack of hay is produced having a configuration similar to that of the interior of the wagon 2, as seen in FIG. 7, but of lesser dimensions, so that the compressed stack of hay is not in contact with either the side walls 18 of receptacle 10 or the compacting head 12. Thus, when the wagon 2 is tilted, as in FIG. 3, for unloading, the compressed stack of hay will engage only the floor 158 of the receptacle 10 and chains 156 can easily drive the compressed stack out of the wagon 2 onto the ground. With the above-described configuration of the compressed hay stack, it is found that the compressed hay stack is self-containing, whereas, if the sides of the stack were vertical, they would tend to collapse or fall away from the stack. Because the hay is densely compacted, when the compressed hay is left in the field for storage, rain and other moisture are less able to penetrate the stack, while the natural juices of the hay are less subject to evaporation. Moreover, the inclined sides of the compressed hay stack tend to shed rain and snow, in a manner similar to the roof of a house, which further reduces moisture penetration. As a result, there is less likelihood of rotting or spontaneous combustion and there is greater nutritional value than is obtained with conventionally stacked hay.

Another obvious advantage is obtained by the use of continuous cable for actuating the compacting head 12. As is well known, the moisture content of hay varies considerably, even from point to point within a given field, and moist hay is more difficult to compress than dry hay. Furthermore, as in any loading operation, the distribution of loose hay within the receptacle 10 may be non-uniform. Thus, the resistance of the hay to compression by compacting'head 12 is likely to be nonuniform also. However, the cable 50 has a certain amount of inherent resilience and, consequently, will tend to stretch at those points where resistance to compression is greater. At. the same time, such stretching will apply an additional compressing force to the hay in the high resistance region which will tend to force the hay toward regions of less resistance and, consequently, results in more uniform distribution and eliminates air in the stack to prevent burning.

Obviously, numerous variations and modifications may be made without departing from the present invention. Accordingly, it should be clearly understood that the form of the present invention described above and shown in the accompanying drawing is illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A hay wagon comprising:

a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay to be compacted into a stack, longitudinally extending edge compactor having outwardly and downwardly inclined longitudinally extending edge compacting side walls mounted for vertical reciprocal movement within said receptacle, the bottom edge of each of said compacting side walls extending contiguous with and movable along the corresponding side wall of the receptacle,

actuating means for reciprocating said edge compactor thereby engaging and inwardly and downwardly compacting a side edge of the hay with the longitudinally extending side wall, and

unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle.

2. The wagon of claim 1 further comprising:

accumulator means for receiving and temporarily storing loose hay delivered into said wagon while said edge compactor is in the act of compressing the hay.

3. The wagon of claim 1 wherein said unloading means comprises:

means for utilizing said receptacle to discharge compacted hay therefrom.

4. The wagon of claim 1 wherein said edge compactor bridges between sides of the receptacle and further comprising:

an opening formed in one end of said edge compactor to permit delivery of loose hay therethrough into the interior of said wagon both when the edge compacting side wall is engaging and is not engaging the side edge of the hay.

5. The wagon of claim lv further comprising:

delivery means for delivering loose hay into said wagon.

6. The wagon of claim 1 further comprising:

a first door means normally comprising one end of said receptacle, second door means normally comprising one end of said compactor adjacent said first door means, and

opening means operable to open said first and second door means to permit unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.

7. The wagon of claim 6 wherein said opening means comprises:

rod means pivotally connected to said receptacle and to said first door means serving to normally main-- tain said first door means in a closed position defining an end of said receptacle and movable to lift said first door means to an open position permitting free movement of the compacted hay out of said wagon,

fluid cylinder means having a piston rod connected to said rod means and operable to move said rod means to cause movement of said first door means between said closed position and said open position, and

flange means carried by said second door means and engagableby said first door means during movement of said first door means to cause said second door means to move with said first door means to said open position.

8. The wagon of claim 6 wherein:

said second door means is hingedly connected to said compactor,

rail means are mounted on said second door means,

bracket means are mounted on said first door means and engage said rail means to retain said first door means in position and to permit movement of said second door means with said compactor, and

said opening means comprises fluid cylinder means mounted on said compactor and having a piston rod connected to said second door means and operable to move both of said door means between a closed position defining one end of said wagon and an open position permitting free unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.

9. A hay wagon comprising:

a receptacle for receiving loose hay to be compacted,

a compactor having at least one outwardly and downwardly inclined side wall mounted for reciprocal movement within said receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said compactor, unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle,

said receptacle comprising:

a plurality of spaced, vertically extending support members disposed with sides thereof facing the interior of said wagon, and

a plurality of panel members extending between said support members to define an open-topped, generally box-like container,

said actuating means comprising:

a plurality of pulleys mounted adjacent to the upper and lower ends of selected ones of said support members,

cable means carried by said pulleys for movement thereabout,

attaching means securing said cable means to said compactor, and

drive means for driving said cable to cause reciprocal movement of said compactor.

10. The wagon of claim 9 wherein said cable means comprises:

a continuous cable extending about all of said pulleys and disposed to extend upward outside of each of said selected support members and downward inside of each of said selected support members.

11. The wagon of claim 10 wherein said drive means comprises:

a fluid cylinder,

a piston rod projecting from said fluid cylinder and movable by said cylinder between an extended position and a retracted position, and

a pulley carrying said cable and mounted on the end of said piston rod for movement with said piston rod.

12. A hay wagon comprising:

a vehicle with a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay,

edge compacting means comprising an axially extending side section diagonally oriented in respect to both the vertical and the horizontal, the compacting means being mounted to and vertically movable in respect to a side wall of the receptacle for angularly engaging and compacting a longitudinal edge of hay in the receptacle to form a selfsustaining stack, and

power means for displacing the edge compacting means vertically along and contiguous with said side wall into and out of angular engagement with said longitudinal side edge of the hay in the receptacle to simultaneously exert compacting pressures on said hay edge in downward and inward directions.

13. A hay wagon comprising:

a receptacle for receiving loose hay,

a compacting mechanism reciprocally supported by at least one side of the receptacle for periodically engaging and compressing hay,

power means for generally vertically lowering and elevating the compacting mechanism in respect to,

hay in the receptacle and in respect to said spaced sides causing the compacting mechanism to engage and compact the hay when lowered,

means for continuously picking up loose hay from a ground-engaging position while simultaneously compacting the hay, and for intermittently delivering the picked-up hay into said receptacle for compacting.

14. A hay wagon comprising:

a receptacle for receiving loose hay,

means for delivering loose hay to the receptacle comprising a telescopic influent means delivering hay to the interior of the receptacle,

a compaction mechanism above the receptacle,

power means for vertically lowering and elevating the compaction mechanism and collapsing and extending the telescopic influent means to simultaneously deliver hay to and compact hay within the receptacle.

15. A crop wagon comprising:

a container on the frame of a vehicle, the container comprising side walls each comprised of a vertically movable upper and a fixed lower section, each upper section being supported for said movement by the adjacent fixed lower section and diagonally disposed with respect to the horizontal and vertical;

a crop delivery unit for continuously picking up crop from the ground and continuously conveying the crop to the interior of the container to form a stack, the stack being below the upper side wall sections when said upper side wall sections are vertically elevated;

power means for lowering the upper angular section of each side wall from time to time into contiguous pressure relation with the side edges of crop stacked within the container to consolidate and seal the edges and to create a crown at the top of the stack.

16. A crop wagon comprising:

a bed for receiving a crop;

a compactor disposed remotely above the bed;

a crop delivery unit for picking up the crop from a field and delivering it to and spreading it along the bed;

power means for reciprocating the compactor be tween said remote disposition and a contiguous compacting relation with the crop within the wagon; I

crop accumulator means interposed between the de livery unit and the bed to temporarily store the incoming crop while the compactor moves between its remote and compacting positions and thereafter deliver the stored crop to the bed, thereby accommodating continuous pick up of the crop from the field concurrent with compaction of the crop on the bed.

* I I t Notice of Adverse Decision in Interference In Interference N0. 98,67 3, involving Patent No. 3,7 44,228, E. C. Lundahl, COMPACTING SYSTEM FOR STAOKING BULK HAY, final judgment adverse to the patentee was rendered J an. 8, 1975, as to claims 13 and 16.

[Ofiimia-Z Gazette May 6, 1.975.] 

1. A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay to be compacted into a stack, a longitudinally extending edge compactor having outwardly and downwardly inclined longitudinally extending edge compacting side walls mounted for vertical reciprocal movement within said receptacle, the bottom edge of each of said compacting side walls extending contiguous with and movable along the corresponding side wall of the receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said edge compactor thereby engaging and inwardly and downwardly compacting a side edge of the hay with the longitudinally extending side wall, and unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle.
 2. The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: accumulator means for receiving and temporarily storing loose hay delivered into said wagon while said edge compactor is in the act of compressing the hay.
 3. The wagon of claim 1 wherein said unloading means comprises: means for utilizing said receptacle to discharge compacted hay therefrom.
 4. The wagon of claim 1 wherein said edge compactor bridges between sides of the receptacle and further comprising: an opening formed in one end of said edge compactor to permit delivery of loose hay therethrough into the interior of said wagon both when the edge compacting side wall is engaging and is not engaging the side edge of the hay.
 5. The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: delivery means for delivering loose hay into said wagon.
 6. The wagon of claim 1 further comprising: a first door means normally comprising one end of said receptacle, second door means normally comprising one end of said compactor adjacent said first door means, and opening means operable to open said first and second door means to permit unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.
 7. The wagon of claim 6 wherein said opening means comprises: rod means pivotally connected to said receptacle and to said first door means serving to normally maintain said first door means in a closed positiOn defining an end of said receptacle and movable to lift said first door means to an open position permitting free movement of the compacted hay out of said wagon, fluid cylinder means having a piston rod connected to said rod means and operable to move said rod means to cause movement of said first door means between said closed position and said open position, and flange means carried by said second door means and engagable by said first door means during movement of said first door means to cause said second door means to move with said first door means to said open position.
 8. The wagon of claim 6 wherein: said second door means is hingedly connected to said compactor, rail means are mounted on said second door means, bracket means are mounted on said first door means and engage said rail means to retain said first door means in position and to permit movement of said second door means with said compactor, and said opening means comprises fluid cylinder means mounted on said compactor and having a piston rod connected to said second door means and operable to move both of said door means between a closed position defining one end of said wagon and an open position permitting free unloading of compacted hay from said wagon.
 9. A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay to be compacted, a compactor having at least one outwardly and downwardly inclined side wall mounted for reciprocal movement within said receptacle, actuating means for reciprocating said compactor, unloading means for aiding in discharging a compacted hay stack from said receptacle, said receptacle comprising: a plurality of spaced, vertically extending support members disposed with sides thereof facing the interior of said wagon, and a plurality of panel members extending between said support members to define an open-topped, generally box-like container, said actuating means comprising: a plurality of pulleys mounted adjacent to the upper and lower ends of selected ones of said support members, cable means carried by said pulleys for movement thereabout, attaching means securing said cable means to said compactor, and drive means for driving said cable to cause reciprocal movement of said compactor.
 10. The wagon of claim 9 wherein said cable means comprises: a continuous cable extending about all of said pulleys and disposed to extend upward outside of each of said selected support members and downward inside of each of said selected support members.
 11. The wagon of claim 10 wherein said drive means comprises: a fluid cylinder, a piston rod projecting from said fluid cylinder and movable by said cylinder between an extended position and a retracted position, and a pulley carrying said cable and mounted on the end of said piston rod for movement with said piston rod.
 12. A hay wagon comprising: a vehicle with a receptacle having a bottom and side walls for receiving loose hay, edge compacting means comprising an axially extending side section diagonally oriented in respect to both the vertical and the horizontal, the compacting means being mounted to and vertically movable in respect to a side wall of the receptacle for angularly engaging and compacting a longitudinal edge of hay in the receptacle to form a self-sustaining stack, and power means for displacing the edge compacting means vertically along and contiguous with said side wall into and out of angular engagement with said longitudinal side edge of the hay in the receptacle to simultaneously exert compacting pressures on said hay edge in downward and inward directions.
 13. A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, a compacting mechanism reciprocally supported by at least one side of the receptacle for periodically engaging and compressing hay, power means for generally vertically lowering and elevating the compacting mechanism in respect to hay in the receptacle and in respect to said spaced sides causing the compacting mechanism to engage and compact the hay when lowered, means for continuously picking up loose hay from a ground-engaging position while simultaneously compacting the hay, and for intermittently delivering the picked-up hay into said receptacle for compacting.
 14. A hay wagon comprising: a receptacle for receiving loose hay, means for delivering loose hay to the receptacle comprising a telescopic influent means delivering hay to the interior of the receptacle, a compaction mechanism above the receptacle, power means for vertically lowering and elevating the compaction mechanism and collapsing and extending the telescopic influent means to simultaneously deliver hay to and compact hay within the receptacle.
 15. A crop wagon comprising: a container on the frame of a vehicle, the container comprising side walls each comprised of a vertically movable upper and a fixed lower section, each upper section being supported for said movement by the adjacent fixed lower section and diagonally disposed with respect to the horizontal and vertical; a crop delivery unit for continuously picking up crop from the ground and continuously conveying the crop to the interior of the container to form a stack, the stack being below the upper side wall sections when said upper side wall sections are vertically elevated; power means for lowering the upper angular section of each side wall from time to time into contiguous pressure relation with the side edges of crop stacked within the container to consolidate and seal the edges and to create a crown at the top of the stack.
 16. A crop wagon comprising: a bed for receiving a crop; a compactor disposed remotely above the bed; a crop delivery unit for picking up the crop from a field and delivering it to and spreading it along the bed; power means for reciprocating the compactor between said remote disposition and a contiguous compacting relation with the crop within the wagon; crop accumulator means interposed between the delivery unit and the bed to temporarily store the incoming crop while the compactor moves between its remote and compacting positions and thereafter deliver the stored crop to the bed, thereby accommodating continuous pick up of the crop from the field concurrent with compaction of the crop on the bed. 